![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
ergiwarrior.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
trans((formal flyer release -repost and distribute at will.))
Baphomet's Sanctuary
An Exploration of Third Gender Sacred Sexuality
Sex is sacred, and can be a source of great spiritual power and beauty. Walking the path of being the Sacred Third in this world can also be an integral and powerful part of one's spirituality. Yet in general, few know what a cross-section of those two paths would look like. The surviving traditions of sacred sex and sex magic do not have clear guidelines for the work of those of us whose souls, energy, and sometimes our bodies exist somewhere between male and female. What does sacred sexuality look like when we do it, in all our ambivalent glory?
This weekend will explore these possibilities in depth, with three full days of workshops, rituals, and activities. Some proposed workshops are:
Shapeshifting and Astral Sex
Sexual Energy and Breathwork for the Third Space
Sacred Toys: The Original Meaning of "Fetish"
Sacred Dance As An Erotic Offering
The Hermaphrodeities Of Sex
Touch, Dysphoria and Body Congruence
Energy Work Within Boundaries and Barriers: Safe Sex and Issues of Consent
Kurgarra and Galatur: Opening the Underworld
When: August 17-19, Friday noon to Sunday 6 p.m. You must arrive by noon on Friday, because that is when we discuss rules for the weekend. You can leave whenever you want. If you would like to come in Thursday night and camp over, there is no extra charge, just let us know when you will be coming in.
Where: Cauldron Farm in Hubbardston, Massachusetts.
What to Bring: This is a camping event, so bring a tent, camping gear, food for the weekend, flashlights, sunscreen, bug repellent, and appropriate clothing for the woods in August. There is a cold shower, a latrine, and a fire circle for cooking campfire food, but this is a no-frills gathering, which is why we can keep the price low. You might also want to bring: Large cushions. Soft mats. (There will be a lot of sitting on the ground for classes.) Backjacks. Folding chairs. Sex toys and other implements, if you have them. Sacred or festive clothing for dancing. Drums and musical instruments. Books on sacred sexuality that you think might be useful for other attendees. Towels and blankets. Donations of latex (unlubed comdoms, dental dams, and especially gloves), or towels, or blankets, or wet-wipes, are welcomed enthusiastically by the staff. Thank you!
Price: $25 for the weekend. Registration is due by August 1st. (We will have PayPal for registrations set up on the Cauldron Farm website soon.) Your fee goes entirely for such things as toilet paper, trash bags, soap, water, rehydration fluids, latex, towels, printed handouts, etc. The staff is unpaid and no one is making a profit here. Those who donate healthy snack food to the general table will be blessed.
What to do if I'd like to give a workshop or run a discussion group: Contact the programming director - Raven at cauldronfarm@hotmail.com - and tell us in detail what you'd like to do and how long it would take.
Who this retreat is for: Anyone who identifies strongly as being someone between, or other than, male or female, who has at least some understanding of the concepts of sacred sexuality and energy work, and who is over 18. Some third gender labels include, transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, gender-variant, two-spirited, androgynous, and ergi. However, we realize that these labels are fluid and debated and not everyone in that demographic considers themselves to be third gender. We are not the Gender Police and we do not judge whether someone is actually Third or not. Only you can make that decision, and we will honor anyone's self-identification. However, we strongly suggest that anyone who has any questions about whether this retreat is appropriate for them should discuss that with our staff. Please contact Lee at ergiwarrior@yahoo.com to find out if this event is right for you. This retreat is a serious exploration, not a Club Med entertainment event, and we all expect to learn from each other.
If you are the committed partner of a third gender person who wants to attend this event, and you are not third gender yourself, you are welcome to come, but you must understand that we are not providing specific programming for nontrans partners. (If any nontrans partners want to set something like that up at this gathering, they are welcome to do it, but the staff's focus is elsewhere.) You are welcome to participate in any workshop or activity that does not clearly and specifically exclude you, which most will not.
Who this event is not for: Those who are neither third gender people, nor their current partners. (This is not a place to merely seek sex with us.) Those who aren't interested in sacred sexuality and/or energy work. Those who are bringing, or under the influence, of, mind-altering substances. This is a substance-free event. Those who are not legally over 18. Children may not come to this event; our apologies, but there will be sexually explicit topics and activities. (As a corollary, ID will be required at registration. If your ID has a name or gender on it that you do not want people to see, you may cover the name so that we need only see the picture of you and the birth date.)
About Baphomet's Sanctuary:
Some workshops will be discussion only. Other (although not all) workshops and activities will be hands-on, mostly with one's self, or sometimes with a partner, or with a surrogate. We want to make it completely and utterly clear that no one who attends any workshop or activity is obligated to do anything, and we mean that 100%. If someone wishes to come to this event, attend every activity, and do nothing but sit silently in the corner, that is fine and they will not be penalized in any way. If someone feels the need to leave a workshop (or the entire gathering), they may go at any time with our sympathy and blessings. We, the staff, are fully aware that in some spiritual-sex-oriented groups, there is subtle pressure to go along with the activities even if one is not comfortable with them. In Baphomet's Sanctuary, participants do only what feels right to them at any time, and we strongly affirm the right to maintain one's own boundaries. As a corollary, no one may touch anyone else without their explicit verbal consent. (As a second corollary, all sexual activities outside of the privacy of one's own tent must be safer sex only.)
We are also aware that many third gender individuals find sexuality to be something of an emotional minefield, for many reasons. While we are committed to making this retreat as safe as possible from outside pressure and judgment, we cannot make anyone safe from their own issues. Sacred sexuality is intense stuff, and we know that some activities may be triggering for some people, perhaps in ways that they did not expect. If the subject of sex is largely traumatic for you, we suggest that you think carefully before exposing yourself to the deep triggers of this event, or discuss it with our contact person listed above. If you choose to come anyway, there will be third-gender counselors on site as part of the staff to help anyone who may need it, and we will be there for you, but you must take responsibility for risking yourself in this way.
About Baphomet:
Baphomet is a God who is pictured as a goat-horned, goat-hooved hermaphrodite. Baphomet is intensely sexual in every way possible, and encourages people to love their flesh and to challenge their minds. For those of us who are third gender, we do this latter thing anyway to others, all the time. However, this gathering will be entirely for us, our bodies, and our souls, and the connections between them. This will be the first gathering of its kind, with brave souls ready to explore the road which has long been lost.
(xposted to various places)
Baphomet's Sanctuary
An Exploration of Third Gender Sacred Sexuality
Sex is sacred, and can be a source of great spiritual power and beauty. Walking the path of being the Sacred Third in this world can also be an integral and powerful part of one's spirituality. Yet in general, few know what a cross-section of those two paths would look like. The surviving traditions of sacred sex and sex magic do not have clear guidelines for the work of those of us whose souls, energy, and sometimes our bodies exist somewhere between male and female. What does sacred sexuality look like when we do it, in all our ambivalent glory?
This weekend will explore these possibilities in depth, with three full days of workshops, rituals, and activities. Some proposed workshops are:
Shapeshifting and Astral Sex
Sexual Energy and Breathwork for the Third Space
Sacred Toys: The Original Meaning of "Fetish"
Sacred Dance As An Erotic Offering
The Hermaphrodeities Of Sex
Touch, Dysphoria and Body Congruence
Energy Work Within Boundaries and Barriers: Safe Sex and Issues of Consent
Kurgarra and Galatur: Opening the Underworld
When: August 17-19, Friday noon to Sunday 6 p.m. You must arrive by noon on Friday, because that is when we discuss rules for the weekend. You can leave whenever you want. If you would like to come in Thursday night and camp over, there is no extra charge, just let us know when you will be coming in.
Where: Cauldron Farm in Hubbardston, Massachusetts.
What to Bring: This is a camping event, so bring a tent, camping gear, food for the weekend, flashlights, sunscreen, bug repellent, and appropriate clothing for the woods in August. There is a cold shower, a latrine, and a fire circle for cooking campfire food, but this is a no-frills gathering, which is why we can keep the price low. You might also want to bring: Large cushions. Soft mats. (There will be a lot of sitting on the ground for classes.) Backjacks. Folding chairs. Sex toys and other implements, if you have them. Sacred or festive clothing for dancing. Drums and musical instruments. Books on sacred sexuality that you think might be useful for other attendees. Towels and blankets. Donations of latex (unlubed comdoms, dental dams, and especially gloves), or towels, or blankets, or wet-wipes, are welcomed enthusiastically by the staff. Thank you!
Price: $25 for the weekend. Registration is due by August 1st. (We will have PayPal for registrations set up on the Cauldron Farm website soon.) Your fee goes entirely for such things as toilet paper, trash bags, soap, water, rehydration fluids, latex, towels, printed handouts, etc. The staff is unpaid and no one is making a profit here. Those who donate healthy snack food to the general table will be blessed.
What to do if I'd like to give a workshop or run a discussion group: Contact the programming director - Raven at cauldronfarm@hotmail.com - and tell us in detail what you'd like to do and how long it would take.
Who this retreat is for: Anyone who identifies strongly as being someone between, or other than, male or female, who has at least some understanding of the concepts of sacred sexuality and energy work, and who is over 18. Some third gender labels include, transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, gender-variant, two-spirited, androgynous, and ergi. However, we realize that these labels are fluid and debated and not everyone in that demographic considers themselves to be third gender. We are not the Gender Police and we do not judge whether someone is actually Third or not. Only you can make that decision, and we will honor anyone's self-identification. However, we strongly suggest that anyone who has any questions about whether this retreat is appropriate for them should discuss that with our staff. Please contact Lee at ergiwarrior@yahoo.com to find out if this event is right for you. This retreat is a serious exploration, not a Club Med entertainment event, and we all expect to learn from each other.
If you are the committed partner of a third gender person who wants to attend this event, and you are not third gender yourself, you are welcome to come, but you must understand that we are not providing specific programming for nontrans partners. (If any nontrans partners want to set something like that up at this gathering, they are welcome to do it, but the staff's focus is elsewhere.) You are welcome to participate in any workshop or activity that does not clearly and specifically exclude you, which most will not.
Who this event is not for: Those who are neither third gender people, nor their current partners. (This is not a place to merely seek sex with us.) Those who aren't interested in sacred sexuality and/or energy work. Those who are bringing, or under the influence, of, mind-altering substances. This is a substance-free event. Those who are not legally over 18. Children may not come to this event; our apologies, but there will be sexually explicit topics and activities. (As a corollary, ID will be required at registration. If your ID has a name or gender on it that you do not want people to see, you may cover the name so that we need only see the picture of you and the birth date.)
About Baphomet's Sanctuary:
Some workshops will be discussion only. Other (although not all) workshops and activities will be hands-on, mostly with one's self, or sometimes with a partner, or with a surrogate. We want to make it completely and utterly clear that no one who attends any workshop or activity is obligated to do anything, and we mean that 100%. If someone wishes to come to this event, attend every activity, and do nothing but sit silently in the corner, that is fine and they will not be penalized in any way. If someone feels the need to leave a workshop (or the entire gathering), they may go at any time with our sympathy and blessings. We, the staff, are fully aware that in some spiritual-sex-oriented groups, there is subtle pressure to go along with the activities even if one is not comfortable with them. In Baphomet's Sanctuary, participants do only what feels right to them at any time, and we strongly affirm the right to maintain one's own boundaries. As a corollary, no one may touch anyone else without their explicit verbal consent. (As a second corollary, all sexual activities outside of the privacy of one's own tent must be safer sex only.)
We are also aware that many third gender individuals find sexuality to be something of an emotional minefield, for many reasons. While we are committed to making this retreat as safe as possible from outside pressure and judgment, we cannot make anyone safe from their own issues. Sacred sexuality is intense stuff, and we know that some activities may be triggering for some people, perhaps in ways that they did not expect. If the subject of sex is largely traumatic for you, we suggest that you think carefully before exposing yourself to the deep triggers of this event, or discuss it with our contact person listed above. If you choose to come anyway, there will be third-gender counselors on site as part of the staff to help anyone who may need it, and we will be there for you, but you must take responsibility for risking yourself in this way.
About Baphomet:
Baphomet is a God who is pictured as a goat-horned, goat-hooved hermaphrodite. Baphomet is intensely sexual in every way possible, and encourages people to love their flesh and to challenge their minds. For those of us who are third gender, we do this latter thing anyway to others, all the time. However, this gathering will be entirely for us, our bodies, and our souls, and the connections between them. This will be the first gathering of its kind, with brave souls ready to explore the road which has long been lost.
(xposted to various places)